Born of Blood
by madpeople-saidalice
Summary: Willow has wanted to increase her knowledge of magic, but lately there is something more than spell-casting drawing her to the occult. The excuse to spend time with a certain blond Wicca has left her wanting to do magic every night. But when a spell goes awry, are Willow and Tara adept enough to fix it? And can they work together without feelings getting in the way? Set season 4
1. The Reality

**Born of Blood chapter 1**

**A **_**Buffy the Vampire Slayer**_** fan fiction**

**Set season four. Oz never returned to Sunnydale and forced Willow to make the choice between him and Tara. Because of this, Willow and Tara have still not experienced the impetus to make them a couple. However, they both have feelings for the other. Willow has told Buffy about her feelings, and she has been kind and encouraging to her best friend. Femslash. **

"Prognatus cruor. Suggero nos vita. Ex nostrum pulsus pectus pectoris currit. Permissum suus vox exsisto notus.

"Calling on those who are said to give life, from Aine to Isis and other Blesseds, I come with my humble plea. Deep is the well of our life force, hidden inside our body and soul, shrouded by an unyielding curtain of dark. I beseech thee, trade this darkness for light. Reveal the hiding places of our innermost selves. Let our life force flow freely to the open world. Release it all, and allow the world to choose whether to end in the darkness or light.

"Prognatus cruor. Suggero nos vita. Ex nostrum pulsus pectus pectoris currit. Permissum suus vox exsisto notus."

"Okay, you're right, that one is freakin' creepy," Buffy said to her friend with an obvious edge of "don't mess with it, Will" in her voice.

"It makes me feel all wiggy inside. Like, I did not sign up for this! I mean, sure, I wanted to learn to do magic, and I am learning and working. And of course I want to get better and be able to do more spells and stuff. But this is just weird. I don't want to touch it. I feel like that could cause some serious big bad. I mean, I'm sure there are other spells that are weirder and bigger and badder, but this is the first one I've hit, and it's majorly on the side of creepy. As in 'I'm shaking a little right now' creepy."

Buffy turned a teasing smile on her friend. "Willow, you're definitely growing up, but it makes me happy to see there are some things about you that will never change. Oh, the Willow-babble,"

Willow looked at Buffy with a pouty expression on her face, trying to feign indignation and failing. "I was NOT babbling!" she protested.

"Sure you weren't, Will. Whatever you need to tell yourself to keep you happy." Buffy shot a smirk at her best friend, and Willow shot one back. The redhead turned away, and her smile grew from sarcastic to genuine as she thought about how lucky she was to have Buffy in her life.

The girls had been through so much together. There was the weird: multiple "end of the world"s (which, obviously, never really worked out), a few too many kidnappings and almost murders (sometimes Willow wondered if Buffy got tired of saving her ass), and really frightening vampire doppelgangers (who, strangely enough, kind of predicted the future).

There was also, thank goodness, the normal: first loves, both in the emotional and physical sense, grades that did not come out as well as hoped, and raging hormones too strong to be controlled in a ladylike manner.

And then there were the things that should have been normal but were weird because it's Sunnydale and Buffy's the Slayer: tough breakups (nothing like spearing the man you love on a sword to let him know it's over), graduation (killing an evil mayor/giant snake thing really does make you feel mature enough to hold a diploma), and roommate issues (maybe they could've worked things out if Kathy hadn't been a monster).

Basically, life had tried very hard to tear these two apart. And life had never succeeded. Even with the most recent thing they were going through, the thing that Willow worried might turn her best friend away from her forever, they were still close as close could be.

Buffy sat down on the bed next to her best friend, and Willow turned around to face Buffy and spontaneously leaned in to give her a quick hug.

"I'm so lucky to have a friend like you," Willow murmured. "We've been through so much, and you've always been there for me. And then, on top of that, you're like this super chick. I would be dead about three hundred times over if it weren't for you always sweeping in and saving the day. And me."

"Willow," Buffy said, taking the redhead's hands in her own, "Of course I always sweep in and save you. You're my best friend. I never thought I'd find a friend who'd understand the Slayer thing, or at least be willing to accept it. But I found a friend who's willing to throw herself into danger to help me do my job. And I mean, you don't have a real obligation to help. I'm bound by my damn sacred duty, but you're only bound by –"

"By the fact that I love you so dang much," Willow giggled.

"Exactly," Buffy smiled. "So maybe you are lucky to have a friend like me, but I'm very lucky too."

The two girls smiled at each other and sat in the comfortable silence that only best friends can achieve. Then Buffy got a sparkle in her eye, and Willow looked away and rolled her eyes, stifling a groan. She knew exactly what was coming.

"So Willow," Buffy said, trying to look and sound as innocent as possible. "Any particular reason we just had the conversation we just had?"

"What?" Willow said. "A girl can't just be thankful for the awesome friends she has?"

"Oh, of course she can!" Buffy responded. "I just mean…well…see…. Okay, enough with the bullshit. I'm just going to ask. Why did we have the conversation we just had? What's on your mind? How are you feeling? Oh, and be honest. Please!"

"Fine," Willow conceded. "I was just thinking about how lucky I am to have a friend like you and about all the reasons I am lucky. And the reasons started out as the things I said, that you save me and are there for me and all that great stuff. Then I thought about the newest reason."

"You mean," Buffy interjected, "the fact that you're gay?"

"Yeah, that's the one," Willow answered very shyly, turning her gaze from Buffy's to stare at the floor.

"Oh Will," Buffy murmured, and then she leaned in and gave her best friend a tight hug. As she pulled away, she took the redhead's face in her hands to make sure that she wouldn't look away.

"You are one of the most incredible people I've ever known. You're crazy smart, totally caring, and so loyal. I would be a total idiot if I let you being gay do anything like drive you out of my life. You're awesome, and that doesn't change based on if you like boys or girls or neither or both. I never thought I'd have a real best friend, but then you came into my life and proved me wrong. I love you for you, for every little part of you, and nothing's going to change that."

Willow's green eyes were shimmering with tears, and she once again pulled Buffy in for a hug. "Thank you," she whispered in her best friend's ear. "I didn't know how much I needed to hear that."

"Of course," Buffy whispered back. The girls pulled apart, and both had big smiles on their faces.

"Besides," Buffy said, "if you can deal with me being a Slayer, I think I can deal with you being a lesbian. It'd be a little hypocritical of me otherwise."

Both girls laughed at this, and the mood in the room lightened back up. Willow stood up from the bed and walked over to the mirror, messing with her hair.

"So what are your plans for the night?" Willow asked over her shoulder.

"I'm going to do a quick training session with Giles, then patrol for a while, then come back here and study. I've got an English test tomorrow that I don't know how I'm going to pass. I guess we'll just have to hope for the best," Buffy said with a groan. "What about you? You're obviously doing something fun, to be checking your cuteness levels in the mirror. Which are off the charts, by the way."

"Oh thanks," Willow replied sarcastically, though the blush in her cheeks made it obvious that she appreciated the compliment. "I'm actually going over to Tara's and we're going to do some magic research."

"Ooh, going over to Tara's for some magic research," Buffy insinuated. "Maybe while you're there, you could, ahem, make some magic of a different kind."

"Buffy!" Willow uttered embarrassedly, turning around to face her best friend. "There will be no magic of that kind. I mean the kind that you mean, not the kind that I mean. I mean, there will be magic of the levitating objects and glowing lights variety, but none of what you were implying. No, none at all. I mean, Tara's probably not into making that kind of magic. Or I mean, maybe she is, but probably not with other girls. And even if she is into making that magic with other girls, it certainly wouldn't be with me."

"Okay," Buffy declared. "I'm going to stop you right there, partially because you would go on for another ten minutes if I didn't and partially because of what you just said. I don't know if Tara's into girls or not, but let's just say for the purpose of this conversation that she is. Why do you think she wouldn't be interested in you?"

"Well…" Willow hesitated. "I don't really know. It's just me. And she could do better, especially as far as crushes go. I mean, I'm not the prettiest girl on campus, or the smartest, or the most popular –"

"And what does that have to do with anything?" Buffy countered. "Answer me this: is she the prettiest girl on campus? Or the smartest or the most popular?"

Willow thought for a moment. "Well, she's definitely not conventionally popular. But I like that about her. And I don't think she's necessarily the smartest at school, but she is really smart in so many other things. And as far as prettiest goes…well, most people would say probably not, but I kind of really think so."

"Ah-ha!" Buffy exclaimed. "And that's what I'm trying to tell you. You don't have to be the prettiest, the smartest, the most popular. The right person will like you anyways. And will probably see you as very pretty and smart and popular."

"I guess you're right," Willow said shyly.

"Of course I'm right!" Buffy replied. "And for what it's worth, you probably are the smartest girl on this campus. And you're gorgeous."

"Thanks Buffy," Willow smiled. "I just…I really want this to work out."

"I understand," Buffy said to her best friend. "I want that for you too."

The girls smiled at each other for a moment, and then Buffy turned and looked at the clock sitting on her nightstand. "I'd better get going," she said as she stood up. "I told Giles I'd meet him at 8, and I'd like to do a little warm up before I get there."

"Yeah, I'd better leave too. Tara said I could come over around 7:30." Willow turned towards the mirror and checked her appearance yet again.

"You look fine," Buffy reassured her best friend as she walked over to her. "In fact, you look better than fine. You look hot! Ow ow! Sexy Willow!"

Buffy began dancing around the redhead in a provocative manner, and Willow gave her a gentle shove to get her to stop. "Thanks Buff. I appreciate it." The sarcasm left her voice as she repeated herself, "I appreciate you a lot."

"You're welcome, Will. I know." She watched as Willow walked to the bed and picked up the spell book she'd been reading out of then walked to the door. "You have a good time tonight."

"Thanks Buffy. You too. Good luck with the studying."

"Oh, I'm going to need it!" Buffy responded.

Willow opened the door and started to walk out, turning to give Buffy a last little wave.

"Will?" Buffy said as her friend turned to face her.

"Yeah?" the redhead replied.

"You're awesome. Just…remember that."

Willow smiled at her friend one last time and then shut the door.

_I hope this works out, _Buffy thought as she started gathering some weapons for training. _Because it's obvious that Tara makes Will happy_.


	2. The Cut

**Born of Blood, Chapter Two **

**A **_**Buffy the Vampire Slayer **_**fan fiction**

**A/N: Thanks so much for all the feedback! It makes me very happy to know that people are reading and enjoying my story **

**Disclaimer: I failed to include this in the first chapter, so I'm just putting it here. ****All names, characters, places, etc. belong to Joss Whedon and company. The story, however, is mine.**

Willow tried to steel herself as she walked up the stairs to Tara's hall.

_It's just Tara. She's my friend. We're friends. Friends who do magic together. And sometimes that means that we hold hands and stare into each others eyes, and I have to exercise every ounce of willpower I have not to melt at that gentle touch or lose myself in her mesmerizing blue eyes that just make me want to lean in so close and stare into them with no distance between us, and then watch those eyes shut and shut my own as our lips come together. NO! Stop it! Not a useful train of thought! _

"Geez, I can't even stay on track when I think about her!" Willow mumbled under her breath as she got to the second floor. Tara's room was all the way at the end of the hall, so Willow slowed her pace for a moment so she could collect herself.

_Okay, this is just going to be a fun spell-sharing session. Perfectly innocent. Hopefully I'll learn some new things. _

Willow recalled the image of Buffy teasing her about "making magic" and the blonde's provocative dance as she called the redhead sexy.

"Well, a girl can dream," Willow sighed quietly as she ended her journey in front of Tara's door.

Before she could knock, the door opened and Tara stood in front of Willow.

"Sorry if that was weird, the opening the door before you knocked. It's just that I felt you coming down the hall, so I figured might as well open the door because I already know you're there!" Tara smiled at Willow as she said this, and then stepped out of the way so the redhead could enter her room.

Willow absolutely loved Tara's single room. She always felt so comfortable in it. The curtains were open, revealing night slowly falling outside the window. Tara avoided turning on the overhead light at all costs, so the light in the room was produced by a large desk lamp with a purpled scarf draped over it and many small candles flickering around the room. A bookshelf stood on one wall, holding many different spell and magic history books, as well as some of Tara's favorite novels. Willow loved that Tara was such an elitist when it came to literature; she had books like _Crime and Punishment _and _The Great Gatsby_ on those shelves, and she loved them.

All of these things made Willow feel right at home, but what she loved most about the room was that it _was_ Tara's. It had her essence in it. It was warm and inviting, just like Tara herself, and whenever Willow stepped inside, she felt calmed. Tara had this incredible effect on her, and though it did unsettle her a little bit, more than anything it made her happy.

A large smile crossed Willow's face as she sat down on a pillow on the floor and set her book down beside her.

"I like that smile," Tara said with a shy one of her own.

"I guess being here and doing magic makes me happy," Willow responded. She was glad she had stopped herself from saying what she was really thinking, which was that just being with Tara, anywhere and doing anything, would make her very happy.

Tara picked up a candle and walked over to the bookshelf, scanning the hard spines of the books lined up there. Willow scooted a candle closer to her and began flipping through her own spell book, looking for the spell she had read Buffy earlier. It was completely bizarre, and she wanted to share it with Tara and see what her opinions on it were. Tara knew magic a lot better than Willow did, and she wanted to know what she made of the spell.

Willow cleared her throat and spoke up. "I was flipping through my book earlier today, and I found this kind of freaky spell. I don't really know what it's about, but it gives me the shivers. I read it to Buffy and she thought it was weird too."

Tara turned to the redhead and looked down at the book in her lap. "I assume you're telling me because you want to share?"

"You assume correctly," Willow said with a smile. "Okay, here goes.

"Prognatus cruor. Suggero nos vita. Ex nostrum pulsus pectus pectoris currit. Permissum suus vox exsisto notus.

"Calling on those who are said to give life, from Aine to Isis and other Blesseds, I come with my humble plea. Deep is the well of our life force, hidden inside our body and soul, shrouded by an unyielding curtain of dark. I beseech thee, trade this darkness for light. Reveal the hiding places of our innermost selves. Let our life force flow freely to the open world. Release it all, and allow the world to choose whether to end in the darkness or light.

"Prognatus cruor. Suggero nos vita. Ex nostrum pulsus pectus pectoris currit. Permissum suus vox exsisto notus."

Neither girl noticed the flame next to Willow growing ever so slightly as she read. The flicker rose higher and higher, until the redhead finished reading and the flame returned to its normal height.

Willow exhaled fully once she finished reading the spell, like she'd somehow been holding her breath the whole time. And though that was impossible, to her it kind of made sense. She still got nervous with Tara when she was talking about magic or taking the lead on a spell. Tara had years of teaching and experience. Willow only had Ms. Calendar's pagan websites and a few lucky breaks.

Tara could feel these nerves from Willow and understood where she was coming from. However, Willow's nerves were completely unnecessary. Yes, Tara knew that she had a much more solid magical education than her friend. But Willow had incredible power, a force that Tara had never before experienced. And even if that weren't true, even if Willow were just uneducated and average, Tara wouldn't judge her anyway. They were friends. _Just friends_, Tara reminded herself silently, and a voice in her head elicited a sigh.

The girls had been silent for a minute now, both lost in their own thoughts. They broke out of their separate reveries and looked at each other.

"You're right," Tara said as she nodded. "There's something weird about that one. I can't put my finger on it, but something's not right." The blonde shrugged her shoulders slightly and then turned back to her bookshelf.

"Yeah, I don't think I'll be casting that one any time soon. Maybe I'll show it to Giles and see if he has any info on it." Willow flipped away from the creepy spell page and began reading randomly, waiting for a spell to catch her eye.

"Oh, this sounds interesting. A bit out of my league, but still very cool. 'A spell for ambitions. When cast, this spell shows the person who willed it cast what their ultimate ambitions are in life.' I'd like to cast that on Xander. Maybe then he can figure out what to do with himself," Willow murmured and giggled.

"Finally!" Tara exclaimed. "Here," she said, setting the candle on top of the bookshelf, "is the book that I wanted to show you." She reached her arm to the back of the shelf and pushed the book out that way, catching it with her other hand. As she pulled her arm out from the back of the shelf, she gave a little cry.

'Tara!" Willow uttered as she stood up quickly and walked over to her friend. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Tara replied. "I'm fine. Just scratched my arm on the top of the bookcase."

"Here, let's take a look," Willow said as she pulled Tara next to the lamp so they had the best possible light.

"See, it's just a little scratch," Tara told her. "Nothing major."

"Well hey," Willow responded. "You're bleeding. So let me at least put a bandage on it?"

"Okay" Tara said, and she sat down on the bed as Willow walked over to Tara's small first aid kit and pulled out a bandage. She went back to the bed and sat next to Tara, taking her scraped arm and laying it across her lap. She unwrapped the bandage and pressed it gently onto Tara's soft skin, reveling in the feeling of touching her. Tara, too, unbeknownst to Willow, was greatly enjoying the feeling of Willow's gentle fingers on her skin.

"There you go!" Willow said as she came to her senses and quickly pushed Tara's arm off her thighs and stood up. "That should do it."

"Thanks, Willow," Tara smiled up at the girl and then slid down to sit on the floor. She reached over and grabbed the book she'd gotten from the shelf, and then Willow sat down across from her. "Sit next to me," Tara said as she patted the floor beside her. "That way we can both read at the same time."

"Oh right," Willow replied as she slid across the floor to Tara. "Makes perfect sense." Tara opened the large book that Willow recognized as one of her magical history anthologies to a specific page and started reading to herself. Willow tried to do the same, but she kept getting distracted by the feel of Tara's body beside hers. Their arms brushed together as she leaned in to read, and she could smell Tara's shampoo. It smelled like lavender and chamomile, and it was the scent that Willow connected with Tara. To be this close to it for this long was intoxicating.

Tara was tense as she sat beside Willow, skimming the wordy passages for interesting information. Sitting this close to Willow was wonderful, but Tara knew she had to keep her emotions in check. Willow would never feel about her the way she felt about Willow. She had boys in her past, and even if she didn't, she was super close to Buffy, who was one of the most attractive women ever. If Willow had feelings for a girl, it would be Buffy, and that was that. But, Tara told herself, that didn't mean that she couldn't enjoy their current closeness and wonder what it would be like if anything ever happened.

The girls read silently, though both did more thinking than reading. To keep up the illusion, Tara turned the page every couple minutes, and then they would both stare at a new block of text for two minutes without reading a word.

As Tara extended her arm to turn the page, Willow noticed something odd.

"Tara," she said, breaking the silence. "Let me see your arm."

Tara held up the arm she had scratched a few minutes earlier, and to the surprise of both the girls, the bandage was soaked with blood.

"What on earth?" Tara asked as she stared at her arm. "It was just a tiny scratch."

"Yeah, it should definitely not have bled long enough to soak into the bandage," Willow said. "Mind if I take off the bandage and have a look? I've done my fair share of first aid detail with Buffy the vampire Slayer for a best friend."

"Of course," Tara responded, and she gripped the side of the bed as Willow tore the bandage away from her skin. When she glanced back at her arm, she could see a small but steady stream of blood issuing from the small cut.

"Okay, this is super weird," Willow said as she walked to the trash and threw the old bandage away. "I am really confused." Willow picked up a rag that was sitting next to the sink and ran it under the water. Then she grabbed another bandage from the first aid kit and sat back down on the floor next to Tara. "You're still bleeding. How is that even possible?" She took her arm and washed it gently with the damp rag, cleaning all the excess blood off and absorbing the new blood that flowed out of the scratch. Then Willow put on the second bandage of the evening and looked down at her handiwork.

"It should stop bleeding soon," Willow said as she stood and walked to the trash and laundry basket to get rid of her medical supplies.

"Hopefully," Tara murmured, still staring at her arm in confusion.

Willow started walking back to Tara as the blonde picked up the book, ready to begin their reading again. Suddenly, a scream was heard from down the hall, and Tara was up in a flash.

Willow grabbed Tara's room key that was sitting by the door, and the two girls bolted out of the room. They ran down the hall, and stopped when they heard sobbing and screaming in the bathroom. They swung the door open with an unnecessary amount of force to find the room full of steam due to a running shower. Through the steam, they could see the form of a young woman, who they assumed was the one screaming.

Willow and Tara walked closer, and as they did, Tara recognized the girl as Lexi, one of her hallmates. "Lexi, what's going on?" Tara said loudly. But then Willow touched her arm and pointed down to the ground where there was a trail of bloody water. It was coming from the running shower. Lying in the shower was the body of a girl, Leslie, Lexi's roommate. She had a large gash on her leg from which blood was flowing profusely. Willow ran to the girl and touched her neck, checking to see if she had a pulse.

"She has a pulse, but its faint," Willow shouted to the other girls over the sound of the shower. "Which was a stupid thing to check considering she's still bleeding meaning her heart's still pumping blood," she mumbled to herself.

Tara had taken Leslie's cell phone and was calling 911, telling them everything she knew, that there was a fatally injured girl with a cut on her leg. Willow shut off the shower and then walked over to Leslie.

"Hi," Willow said. "My name's Willow, I'm a friend of Tara's, and we're going to help you make sure that she's alright. Do you know this girl?"

"Yes," Leslie responded weakly through her sobs. She started trying to pull herself together. "Her name's Lexi. She's my roommate. I was in the room studying when she told me she was going to take a shower. She's always pretty quick in the shower, so after a half hour, I started to get a little worried. I know it's kind of obsessive, but she's a klutz and I wanted to make sure she was okay. I came in, and I found her here, like that. It looks like she nicked herself shaving or something."

Tara walked back over and handed Leslie her cell phone, then quietly said, "EMTs are on their way. It's going to be okay."

"You're right," Willow said to Leslie. "From the placement and the fact that her razor's on the floor near her hand, it does look like a shaving nick. But this is way too much blood for a normal nick. Do you know if Lexi had any blood disorders? Like hemophilia, where when she bleeds she bleeds for a long time?"

"Not that I know of," Leslie replied. "And I'm pretty sure I would know. We've been best friends since we were seven years old."

At this, Leslie collapsed into sobs again and fell against Willow's chest. Willow put her arms around the girl while looking trying to catch Tara's eye. Tara glanced at her arm, where the blood was starting to come through the bandage yet again, then at the girl lying in blood on the floor, and then her eyes met Willow's.

Something was up.

**A/N 2: It's about to get bloody! **


	3. The Answer

**Born of Blood, Chapter 3**

**A **_**Buffy the Vampire Slayer **_**fan fiction**

Willow and Tara held Leslie as the paramedics wheeled Lexi out of the bathroom. They had arrived very quickly and bombarded the girls with questions when they came, and now they were taking Lexi to the hospital.

One of the paramedics stopped to talk to the girls on his way out. "They're taking her to Sunnydale Memorial Hospital. She lost a lot of blood, but there's still a chance that she'll come through. It's lucky you found her when you did though. A couple more minutes and I don't think there'd even be a chance. We're contacting her family right now and –"

"I want to come with you to the hospital," Leslie declared loudly.

"I don't think that's such a good idea, miss. The trip over in the ambulance is going to be pretty difficult, and a lot is going to happen that you don't want to see. Why don't you stay here for a little while and calm down, and then if you still want to you can get someone to drive you over? Well, I'd better get going. Thank you all very much." The paramedic gave them a nod and then ran down the stairs.

A crowd had congregated in the hallway, but now that the EMTs were gone, they figured the commotion was over, and people dissipated and returned to whatever it was they were doing before.

"I cannot believe this," Leslie said in a hollow voice. She had stopped crying, and now she just had this look of blankness on her face, like she was void of all emotion. Willow thought she preferred it when the girl was crying.

"Hey, Leslie," Tara said gently, putting her hand on the girl's arm. "Willow and I need to go take care of some things, so why don't we walk you to a friend's room? Like the paramedic said, it would be good for you to calm down a little and then you can go over to the hospital."

"I'd appreciate that. One of my other best friends, Erin, lives in Stevenson. Can you walk me over there?" Leslie asked.

"Of course we can," Willow responded. Looking at Tara, she added, "That would be great, because then we can see if Buffy's home. I'd like to tell her that something's going on."

"Okay," Leslie said. "Let me just grab my stuff from my room."

"We'll do the same," Tara agreed, and she and Willow walked down the hall.

"Any hypotheses?" Tara murmured softly as she unlocked her door.

"Not one," Willow replied. "But I can tell you that this does not bode well."

After grabbing a few things, Willow and Tara went to Leslie's room to get her.

Leslie was standing by her bed, staring at Lexi's side of the room. "What if she never comes back here?" she said to the girls standing in her doorway without turning around.

"You can't think like that," Willow declared. "It just makes things harder. I know this is going to sound weird, but I've been in your situation before, and I promise you, it really is better to be positive."

"You have?" Leslie said as she turned to Willow with her eyes wide.

"Yes, actually more then once," Willow replied (as Tara thought _Yeah, she's in this situation every night_). "Now let's get you over to Stevenson. You'll feel better when you're not in this room."

The three girls walked quickly across the campus, not talking. After making sure Leslie was safe with her friend, Willow and Tara hurried to the room Willow and Buffy shared.

"She's not here," Willow stated as she opened the door. "I didn't think she would be, she said she was going to patrol for a little while tonight. I just thought we'd check."

"It was a good thought," Tara said. "Okay, so what's our game plan?"

"Well, we don't really know what's going on, and if there's anybody I trust to figure out the answer to the most obscure situation, it's Giles," Willow answered.

"Good," Tara replied. "So let's go over there." Willow walked over to set her spell book on her desk. "Wait Will, why don't we take that with us? Just in case there's something in there that can help us."

"Good thinking," Willow said, and she walked back over to Tara. "Your bandage is almost soaked through again. Maybe we should change it."

"No time," Tara said. "We can change it when we get to Giles' apartment."

And with that, the girls took off for their favorite ex-librarian's place.

Willow banged anxiously on Giles' front door, and she could hear him saying "Geez, don't get your knickers in a twist," as he walked towards the door.

Giles opened the door and a look of confusion crossed his face. "Willow. Tara. I was not expecting you. Come in."

The two girls walked in quickly and sat down on the couch. "Giles, can you get me your first aid kit?" Willow asked, grabbing at Tara's arm.

"Of course," he responded as he walked into the kitchen. "Would you care for anything else? Some tea, perhaps?"

"Not right now, thank you," Willow answered.

Giles returned to the living room and handed Willow his first aid kit. He watched as she pulled a bandage off of Tara's arm to reveal a small bleeding cut. "Tara, what happened there?" he asked as he sat down in a chair across from them.

"Well that's actually what we're here to talk to you about," Willow said as she pressed another bandage onto Tara's skin.

Together, they recounted the story of Tara scraping her arm, but then bleeding for much longer then was normal for that kind of scratch. When Giles commented that that was yes, strange, but no cause for serious alarm, they told him about the bleeding girl in the bathroom.

"It was awful," Willow told him.

"Th-there was blood everywhere," Tara stuttered.

"So, two cases of profuse bleeding with no reasonable explanation," Giles said. The girls nodded at him in sync, and he looked at them dubiously. "While I understand that this situation is odd, and perhaps somewhat unnerving, I'm not sure something supernatural is the cause. Perhaps –"

"Okay, Giles, what the hell is going on?" someone yelled as they slammed the door.

"Willow. Tara. What are you guys doing here?" Buffy asked in a surprised manner as she rounded the corner into the living room.

"Buffy," Giles responded. "What are you doing here? And what are you shouting about? And did you just break down my door?"

"It was unlocked," Buffy said as she looked at Giles exasperatedly. Ignoring the fact that her question was unanswered, Buffy started to talk. "Why didn't you tell me that tonight was a vamp holiday? Or something like that that makes them extra crazy? Because it is wild out there tonight. The vamps are acting way less apprehensive than the average vampire does, especially now that every single one knows there's a seriously kick ass Slayer in town. I've never seen vamps without a mission this bold. And also it's extra bloody! I caught this one little guy sucking on a girl in an alley, and when he dropped her to fight, her blood was flowing like crazy! I staked him and then screamed till someone found her, but I don't think there's too good a chance she's still alive. So what's the sitch?"

Willow, Tara, and Giles all stared at her with their mouths agape.

"Okay, it is not a good sign when both Willow and Giles are speechless," Buffy said.

Giles turned and looked at Willow and Tara. "I'm sorry girls, but I'm starting to think I was mistaken in saying that the causes of your evening's events are not supernatural."

"What are your 'evening's events'?" Buffy asked as she sat down beside the girls.

Once again, the two Wiccans told the story of their night, starting with Tara scraping her arm and ending with the ambulance pulling away from the dorm. Buffy looked freaked out when they finished, and she turned to look at Giles to ask him once again what was going on. To her surprise, he was not there. Turning around, she found him at his bookshelf, hurriedly pulling books down, looking at them, and then setting them aside.

"What's the what, Giles?" Buffy inquired as she got up to walk over to her ex-watcher.

"I'm looking to see if I can find anything that explains this type of incident. Willow, why don't you come and help me? Two minds are better than one, and I'm sure between the two of us we can figure this out. And the sooner the better, far as I'm concerned."

Willow looked at Tara, who shyly looked down at the floor, and then got up and walked over to the bookshelves.

"So, I'm guessing it's research time?" Buffy asked as she sidled towards the door.

"You are correct," Giles answered as he turned to look at her. "And I'm guessing that you would like to leave?"

"Well, ya know, those vamps are acting crazy and I don't want to leave all of Sunnydale unprotected. Plus we all know that I'm never really good at the research stuff, and that I always end up missing information anyway," Buffy said, hoping Giles would acquiesce.

"Of course. Go. Just come back here as soon as possible. Hopefully we'll have it figured out quite soon," Giles told her, and with a little wave, Buffy dashed towards the door and was gone.

"Well, let's get started, shall we? Here Willow, this book has possibility. Turn to the chapter on effects on demons due to the position of the stars. Normally I ignore astrology, but this is a situation I've never encountered, so I really don't know what the explanation might be." Giles handed Willow a thick tome, and she took it back over to the couch and sat down.

"I hope this isn't awful for you," Willow whispered to Tara as she flipped to the chapter Giles had suggested. "You can go if you want."

"No, it's fine," Tara responded quickly. "I'd offer to help, but research has never been my strong point. I'm totally cool with staying here. In fact, I'd rather stay here. I know you guys will take care of me, and I can help take care of you."

"Good," Willow said quietly, and she reached out a hand and squeezed her friend's thigh. Then she yanked her arm back at starting yelling at herself. _I cannot believe I just did that! Hopefully Tara reads nothing into it, just thinks that it was a friendly gesture in response to her friendly words. Oh Goddess, I need to make sure nothing shows on my face_.

Tara was also thinking about keeping control of her expression. She didn't want Willow to know how much she enjoyed that, or how much she wished the redhead would just keep her hand on her thigh. So she just turned and smiled slightly at her friend, and Willow did the same before burying her head in the book.

"Giles, where is that tea you mentioned earlier? I'd be happy to make us a pot," Tara said as she stood up from the couch.

"Oh, um, yes. First cabinet to the right of the fridge. Kettle's on the stove and the teapot is right beside it," the Englishman said as he watched Tara walk into the kitchen. He hoped she didn't notice that he hadn't been looking at the book in his hands when she asked the question. He had been looking at the two girls.

_So, Willow's in love with her. I never would have guessed that one, especially not after what she had with Oz. But love is love, and I'm glad Willow's found it again. Though by the looks of that interaction she hasn't told young Tara yet, and she is unaware that Tara has feelings for her. I hope they get that sorted soon. Life's too short not to be with the ones you love. _

A voice tore Giles away from his thoughts. "I don't think we'll find anything useful in this one. Got another book that I can look through?"

"Of course, Willow. Here, try this. Find where it discusses the cycle of blood through the body. It's a stretch, but it may help us here." Giles traded Willow the new book for the old and put the useless astrology history back on the shelf.

Tara entered from the kitchen with two cups of tea and placed one on the coffee table in front of Willow. The redhead murmured a quiet "Thank you" without looking up, and Tara looked lovingly down at the object of her affections, knowing that Willow would not see her expression.

_And that look just clinched it for me. No one gives me credit for my perceptiveness. _

"Here you go, Mr. Giles," Tara said, setting the steaming cup onto the table.

Giles once again shook himself out of his thoughts and looked at the lovely, shy blonde. "Thank you, Tara. This was immensely thoughtful of you," he told her as he reached forward and took a small sip.

"You're w-welcome," Tara said with a shy smile, and then she walked back and sat down on the couch, far away from where Willow was researching. She didn't want to distract her.

Willow felt Tara sit down on the couch and moaned inwardly at the fact that the blonde was sitting so far away. _Well, this is not at all a good sign. Way to go, idiot, that leg squeeze was too much. I don't really think friends do that. She's probably figured me out, with her incredible intuition, and she doesn't want to lead me on. Goddess, this sucks. Alright, researching_.

Tara really hoped that Willow didn't get the wrong idea from their sitting positions. Tara would love to be close to Willow, but she knew that if she did that, Willow would feel compelled to talk to her and make sure she was alright, and they couldn't have that. Willow needed to be completely focused on researching so that this weirdness could get figured out as soon as possible.

"Just a moment," Giles said, and he quickly flipped a page of his book.

"What is it?" Willow asked, turning to look at him.

"Of course! I should have realized it. Quite silly, actually, to not have the option cross my mind."

"Giles, do you think you have an answer?" Willow prodded, and the older man looked up at her with a triumphant look on his face.

"This text talks about an ancient spell that can cause people to bleed and not stop until either the spell is undone or the person bleeding dies. This explains everything! Tara's arm, the girl in the bathroom, the woman Buffy found. And the vampires would be able to sense a change in the blood of their prey, and it would drive them wild," Giles explained quickly.

"Okay, great, so how can we get this undone?" Willow asked.

"Well, it says that there is a reversal spell in the same book as the spell itself. It also says that we must have the person who cast the spell with us," Giles answered.

"Why don't we focus on the book first? Does it say what spell book it comes from?" Willow inquired.

"Yes, it's from _The Alchemy of Emotion_," Giles said, and both girls faces suddenly went ashen. "What is it, girls?" Giles asked concernedly.

Willow walked silently to her bag and pulled out the spell book she'd been carrying. She turned it to face Giles, and he slowly read the title.

"Willow," Giles said intensely and walked over to the young woman. "Have you cast any spells out of this book?"

"No!" Willow told him. "I haven't cast a single one. I mean, I read one to Buffy and Tara, but it certainly was not casting."

"What was the spell you read?" Giles asked quietly.

Willow flipped to the page the spell was on. "Well, the beginning and end are in Latin, but the middle is 'Calling on those who are said to give life, from Aine to Isis and other'—"

"That's it," Giles said gravely, and Willow's face got even paler. "That is the ancient spell deemed 'Born of Blood' by those who created it, and you have cast it on Sunnydale."


	4. The Confessions

**Born of Blood, Chapter 4 **

**A **_**Buffy the Vampire Slayer **_**fan fiction**

**WARNING: very slightly graphic femslash occurs in this chapter. I'm assuming you don't have a problem with two women loving each other if you've read this far into this fic, but on the off chance you do, stop reading here. I don't need to get hate about girl-on-girl action. **

"Wait, what?" Willow asked, baffled. "I-I-I don't see how that can be true!"

"Willow's right," Tara said, walking over to Giles and Willow and looking at the spell book with them. "She was literally just reading it, there's no way the spell could have been cast."

"Yeah, I mean, if there are any sort of necessary ingredients or a necessary set up, we didn't have that. And I didn't even have a clear and concentrated mind!" Willow babbled, trying to convince Giles of her innocence.

"Well look," Giles reasoned, "there are no ingredients or instructions listed. So that leads me to believe that those things wouldn't be necessary."

"Yeah, but that means that I have no idea how to even cast the spell! So it makes no sense that I did it!" Willow argued.

Giles walked back over to the book he had found the explanation in, and read it for a moment. "It says here that the Born of Blood spell requires nothing more than the caster already having a proficiency for magic and the spell being spoken in an arena of heightened, passionate emotions."

The two Wiccans looked at Giles, and then turned their heads to look at each other. "I mean," Willow started, "I do have a proficiency for magic. But heightened, passionate emotions? I'm confused."

"You said you first read it to Buffy," Giles said. "Had anything big happened just before that?"

"Not at all," Willow answered. "We'd just been in our room. I was reading the spell book and Buffy was folding her laundry. No emotions there."

"So that just leaves the time that you read it in Tara's room," Giles stated. "Did anything happen before that?"

Tara cleared her throat, and both Willow and Giles turned to look at her in surprise. "Mr. Giles, I think I might know what's going on," Tara said quietly. "If you could just give us a moment alone…"

Giles and Tara exchanged a glance, and he realized in that moment that she knew he was aware of the way she felt about Willow. _Ah, yes. Those hormonal teenage feelings would definitely qualify as "heightened, passionate emotions." Guess they have no choice but to share their feelings with one another now. _

"Of course, Tara," Giles replied. "I will be in my bedroom when you all need me again. I think I have a book in there that may give us more useful information on this spell."

With that, Giles crossed in front of the girls and exited the room. Willow set the spell book down on the couch and turned to look at her friend.

The girls overlapped as they both started speaking –

"Tara, I'm glad you got him out of the room, because there's something I really need to tell you."

"Willow, I think I know what the emotions are, and you have the right to know first."

They both giggled for a moment and smiled at one another. They were enough in tune with each other that they could sense the nerves the other girl was feeling.

"You go first," Tara said quietly.

"Okay," Willow answered. She drew in a deep breath and forced herself to look into Tara's beautiful blue eyes. "I'm not sure how to do this, so I'm just going to say it. Tara Maclay, I am falling in love with you."

Tara's eyes widened in shock, and Willow interpreted it as disgust. "I know that it's ridiculous, and I understand if this means that we're not going to stay in contact. I'm so sorry about all the times we've been in intimate situations, all the spells and everything. I'm sure you're looking back now and thinking that I did it all as an excuse to touch you or something. Which is definitely not the truth. I mean, getting to be close to you was an incredible added perk, but I did really like just doing the magic. I understand if our friendship ends now, or if you want to hit me or something. I've been meaning to tell you, and I was going to tell you soon, maybe even tonight. But now I just had to tell you, because I think it explains the casting of the spell and I'm really really sorry –"

Tara stopped Willow flat in her babble-tracks by taking the redhead's hands in her own. Now it was her turn to take a deep breath and focus her eyes upon the emerald ones across from her. "Willow Rosenberg, I am falling in love with you too."

Willow's mouth fell open and her eyes welled with tears. "Don't cry, sweetie," Tara whispered gently, placing her hands on Willow's pale cheeks, ready to stop any stray tears.

"Don't worry," Willow said with an emotion-suppressing gulp. "These are tears of joy. If you knew how much I've been hoping I would hear you say those words…"

"I do know," Tara responded. "I imagine it's about the same amount that I've been hoping I'd hear you say them."

"Tara?" Willow asked.

"Yes?" Tara responded.

"Can I kiss you now?"

Tara nodded, and Willow leaned in and placed her lips on Tara's. She had dreamed of this moment so many times, dreamed of the way the blonde's lips would feel against hers, and here in reality, it felt so much better than she could ever have possibly imagined. Tara's hands caressed the porcelain skin of Willow's cheeks as Willow wrapped her arms around her lover's waist.

After a short moment, too short in Willow's opinion, they separated their lips but kept their bodies together. Tara's arms moved to around Willow's shoulders, and they stared into each other's eyes for a moment.

"So, I think that these emotions would probably be enough to set off this crazy spell," Willow said, and Tara giggled gently.

"Probably so. I'm glad we can share the blame. I was so worried it would be my fault," Tara replied.

"No," Willow said definitively. "This is my fault. I was the one who read the spell."

Tara looked at her love and said, "I'm partially to blame as well. You heard what Giles said, the spell works when you have an arena of emotions. And my emotions towards you definitely contributed to that. And besides, we're falling in love. If you're a part of something, I'm a part of it too."

"Fine," Willow conceded, and then her eyes fell from Tara's eyes to her lips. "Goddess, I want to kiss you again."

"Well, what's stopping you?" Tara asked teasingly.

"I can't kiss you the way I want to kiss you in the middle of Giles' apartment. That's just too weird," Willow replied.

"I have an idea," Tara said with a twinkle in her eye. She took the redhead's hand and walked her quietly towards the door. Silently, she twisted the knob, and the two girls stepped outside. Willow slowly shut the door behind them without making a sound.

The two girls walked hand in hand to the side of Giles' building, and then Willow turned on Tara and walked her up against the wall.

"You see, this is why I couldn't kiss you in the middle of Giles' apartment." And with that, Willow put her hands on either side of Tara's head and leaned in to kiss her once again.

This kiss was quite different from the first one they shared. While that one was gentle and tentative, this kiss was much more passionate. Both girls immersed themselves fully in the feel of the other's lips on their own. After a moment, Tara felt Willow's tongue play along her bottom lip. Without a thought, Tara allowed her lips to part and Willow's tongue slipped in.

Tara's arms were wrapped around Willow's waist, and she pulled the redhead's body into her own. Tara wanted to feel every wonderful curve of her lover's body against hers. They fit together like pieces of a puzzle, and Willow felt more comfortable than she ever had before. Tara's hands slid up Willow's back and her fingers entwined themselves in her hair. Then she let her hands slide back down, past where they had been resting before. Testing her luck, Tara placed her hands on Willow's rear end. Willow moaned a little at the light contact, and Tara took that as an invitation to apply a little more pressure.

Both girls were so entranced by this newfound pleasure that neither noticed a figure walking towards Giles' apartment. The figure stopped under a streetlight, and if either Willow or Tara had looked up at that moment, they would've seen an ecstatic Buffy staring back at them.

Buffy quickly ran into Giles' apartment, leaving the girls to have their fun for a little while longer. She found Giles sitting at his reading table in the living room with four or five books open in front of him.

"Oh, Buffy, wonderful," Giles said. He stood up out of his chair and looked at the Slayer. "We believe we've found the explanation."

He then told her about the spell and about the circumstances necessary for the spell to be cast.

Giles cleared his throat and somewhat smugly declared, "And if I were to warrant a guess about what those heightened emotions would be, I would say –"

"That it's the fact that Willow and Tara are in love with each other," Buffy finished, totally bursting his bubble.

"Well, yes, that's what I would guess," he said in an almost pouty manner. "Wait, how did you know that?" he asked.

"Because they're kissing outside your apartment building right now." Buffy said simply.

"That would do it," Giles responded, unable to keep a certain amount of shock out of his voice. "I had been wondering where they'd gotten off to."

Buffy chuckled throatily. "Well there's your explanation on that." She clapped her hands in excitement and her voice jumped up about an octave. "Ah! I'm just so happy that Willow finally told Tara! And how awesome that Tara feels the same way! This is just like the best day ever!"

Giles shot Buffy something of an evil glare, and Buffy remembered that right now was probably not the best time to be so enthusiastic about her best friend's love life.

"Though I think right now we must concentrate on the matter at hand, I'll also say that I am very happy for the two of them," Giles said, and he couldn't keep the small smile off his face.

Then, Giles and Buffy heard the door open, and Giles returned to his seat at the table. Buffy went and stood behind his chair, looking at all the books he had laid out.

"Okay," Willow said, and Buffy and Giles looked up to see the two Wiccans standing hand in hand. "We've figured out the explanation, and we know that we're definitely the ones who cast this spell. Now, what's our solution?"


	5. The Blood

**Born of Blood, Chapter 5**

**A **_**Buffy the Vampire Slayer **_**fan fiction**

Giles cleared his throat and looked at Willow. "Glad to see we're all in accordance now," he said, and his trademark small smile crossed his face, his way of telling Willow that he was happy for her.

Willow looked up to Buffy and found her best friend looking so obviously ecstatic. A grin swept across Willow's face as she and Buffy shared this happy best friend moment, and Tara blushed because she knew all this excitement was over her.

"Now then," Giles said, back to business once again. "I am almost done determining what exactly needs to happen to reverse this spell. Willow, I would like your help with the final bits of research. This spell needs to be undone quickly or the results will quite literally be bloody."

"Blood!" Willow exclaimed, and she released Tara's hand and looked at her.

"Oh," Tara realized, and she raised her scratched arm for all to see. The blood was seeping through the bandage and starting to show on her arm.

"Tara, let's get you a new bandage right now," Willow insisted, taking her love's hand once again.

"No Will, you research and get us ready to do some magic," Buffy told her best friend. "I'll change Tara's bandage."

"Okay," Willow agreed. Releasing Tara's hand and looking at Giles, she asked him, "Where do you want me to start?" She sat down at the table as Buffy and Tara walked away to clean Tara's arm off and re-bandage it yet again.

Giles pointed to specific books as he spoke. "Well this is your spell book, and as we determined earlier, it is the one that has the actual reversal spell in it. This book has the most useful information about the spell, its casting, its effects, and how to effectively undo it."

Willow's face went white as a sheet as she read one of the pages Giles pointed to. "The bleeding doesn't stop until the spell is reversed or the bleeder dies? Giles, we need to stop this right now. This is awful. This is more than awful. This is the worst thing I have ever done. Anyone who's bleeding right now could die soon, and it's my fault! That girl from the bathroom, Lexi, they said that there was a chance they could save her, but I'm sure that didn't happen because of this spell. I can only imagine that there's a ton of Lexi's out there who can't be saved because I made them bleed and –"

"Willow, I understand that your guilt is immense, but the best way to relieve guilt is to fix the situation, and to fix the situation we must research," Giles said forcefully. "Calm down, and try not to think about everything on such a large scale. And if you're worried about Tara –"

"It's not just Tara!" Willow interrupted.

"I realize that," Giles responded. "But I know that you are worried about Tara, and that is frightening you even more, so I will just say that her cut is very small and that it would take quite a while for her body to lose enough blood. So you have nothing to worry about, because if we both research quickly and thoroughly now, we'll have the spell reversed within the next half hour."

"Of course," Willow conceded. "You're right, as always." The redhead took a deep breath and then said, "Okay, concentrated and calmed. Tell me what we need to get done."

Buffy and Tara watched from the kitchen as Willow and Giles bent over the books and murmured softly.

"She really, genuinely enjoys this, doesn't she?" Tara asked in a bemused fashion.

"She sure does," Buffy replied. "And that is one thing I know I will never understand about Willow. I cannot stand the sticking my head in ancient books all day. But I'm glad she likes it, because someone has to do it!"

"I'm with you," Tara said. "I'm just awful at research. And it makes my head hurt."

The two girls laughed quietly for a moment and then looked at each other, realizing for the first time the strange bond that they shared. They were the two most important women in Willow's life. Of course, the way in which they were important was different, but they realized that they were the two people who Willow cared about more than anyone else. And this bond joined them in a strange way. But both girls thought that they didn't mind being joined to the other.

Buffy pressed the bandage on to Tara's skin and threw away the wrapper. "There you go! All fixed up, hopefully for the last time."

"Thank you," Tara said quietly, and she smiled at her new friend.

Buffy cleared her throat and changed her expression to one that she hoped was loving with a hint of menacing. "I know you're a very nice person and that I really don't need to say this to you, but I'm going to anyway because no one brings out the protective in me like Willow. If you hurt her in any way, you better plan on being out of the country within the hour, because I will come after you and –"

"Please, don't finish that sentence," Tara pleaded. "Just the thought of you issuing me a threat is really scary. I've seen what you can do, and I've decided that the last thing I want to do is cross you. So, I get the message. But I don't really think I need the incentive not to hurt Willow. I've seen what hurt can do to her, and I don't think I could live with myself if I knew I caused that."

"I knew you'd say something like that, but good. That's what I like to hear." Buffy quickly lost the menacing from her expression, smiled up at Tara, and said "You are so one of the good ones. I'm so glad Willow fell in love with you."

"Trust me," Tara said, and she looked out to the living room where Willow and Giles were still hard at work, "I am so glad too."

Buffy and Tara decided to meditate as they waited for Giles and Willow to be ready to reverse the spell. "I could use some calming down. Things have been pretty crazy tonight," Tara said as the girls settled themselves on the living room floor.

Buffy nodded. "I'm with you there. Those vamps were putting up a serious fight, and there's something about concentrating on nothing that makes all the fighting stress go away."

Both girls shut their eyes and started to breath in and out slowly. They cleared their minds and sharpened their senses, listening to the other until their breathing patterns synced up. Each girl went to a peaceful place in her mind and started to settle in there.

Just as they both got completely comfortable, a book slammed shut and jarred them from their reveries.

"Geez, thanks! You interrupted my tanning on my perfect white sand beach," Buffy whined and turned to look at Giles and Willow.

"Somehow, I don't feel too guilty about that," Giles said as he stood up and crossed to Buffy and Tara. "We are all ready to perform the reversal spell. It's probably good that I startled you both out of your meditations, as the aim of meditation is actually the opposite of what we need to achieve here."

"Oh, you mean the arena of heightened, passionate emotions?" Willow asked, walking up behind him with the spell book open in her hands. "I don't really foresee that being a problem," she said as she looked at Tara with an almost naughty glint in her eyes.

"Willow!" Buffy exclaimed proudly as she gave her friend a light pat on the leg.

Giles looked flustered by the open display of sexual emotion from one of the young people whom he still somewhat thought of as students, but he forced himself to get over it quickly and retrieve a candle and a book of matches from one of his shelves. "Now then, let's get this done. Willow, take a seat, and I'll place the candle in front of you."

Willow sat on the floor next to Tara, who rested her hand on the redhead's knee. A flurry of emotions ran through Willow, ranging from fear to delight, and she knew that she was easily in the right mental state to get this spell reversed. She placed the book in her lap and read over the spell one more time as Giles lit the candle in front of her.

"Now, this isn't stated anywhere as necessary, but I don't think it could hurt for all of us to send our emotional energies towards Willow as she is casting the spell," Giles said, and Buffy and Tara nodded in agreement. "Whenever you're ready, Willow," Giles murmured softly.

Willow took a deep breath and then let her mind race over everything that had happened in the last couple hours. If that wasn't enough to fill her with heightened, passionate emotions, she didn't know what would be.

"Prognatus cruor. Suggero nos vita. Ex nostrum pulsus pectus pectoris currit. Permissum suus vox exsisto notus.

"Calling on those who are said to give life, from Aine to Isis and other Blesseds, I come with my humble plea. Let the inner forces that govern our lives return to their hiding places. Show no more of these things. What has been revealed may never be hidden again, but I beseech thee, let secrets show no more. Return them to within us, so that we may live as before.

"Prognatus cruor. Suggero nos vita. Ex nostrum pulsus pectus pectoris currit. Permissum suus vox exsisto notus."

The four people who were seated on the floor looked around, half expecting something to be different.

"Well," Buffy asked blatantly, "did it work?"

"Let's see," Tara said, and she quickly ripped off her bandage. Willow, Giles, and Buffy all leaned in to see that the small scrape was no longer bleeding.

"Yay!" Buffy cheered. "Go Willow, spell caster extraordinaire!"

"I think I'll be avoiding spells for a little while," Willow responded with a small chuckle. "Perhaps even reading them out loud."

"While I'm not one to discourage education," Giles said, "I think that may not be too bad of an idea."

"Well, I guess we're through for the night," Buffy said as she stood up.

"Yes, I guess we are," Giles stated as he, Willow, and Tara all stood up as well. "Buffy, I will see you tomorrow for training. Willow, good job tonight. And Tara, I hope to see you again here soon. Hopefully under less pressing circumstances next time."

"I'd like that very much," Tara responded, and Willow leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

"Goodnight, Giles!" Buffy and Willow said in chorus as they walked out the door, Buffy leading the way just in case and Willow and Tara hand in hand behind.

The three girls arrived at Tara's dorm first, and they all stopped in front, waiting for someone to say or do something. Then Willow leaned in and whispered into Tara's ear, and the blonde smiled and nodded her head.

Willow let go of Tara's hand then walked over to Buffy and pulled her slightly away. "I'm going to stay at Tara's tonight. She says it's okay, and, well, I really want to."

"Aww, my little Willow's getting all growed up!" Buffy said in a teasing voice.

"Buffy, please," Willow whined, rolling her eyes at her best friend.

"Geez, take a joke," Buffy pouted, before she smiled and took Willow's hands in hers. "Seriously, Will, I'm so happy for you. Do what you want, have a great time, and be happy. After tonight, you've earned it."

Willow smiled and hugged Buffy one more time. "Thank you Buffy. You are definitely the best."

"Also, I expect full details and explanations tomorrow."

Willow groaned, and the two walked back over to where Tara was standing.

"Well, I'm off to study for my English exam," Buffy said as a look of horror crossed her face.

"Good luck," Tara said, and the two blondes smiled at each other.

"Have a good night!" Buffy said as she turned and started walking back towards her dorm.

"Bye!" Willow shouted after her.

Willow and Tara looked at each other and intertwined their fingers as they walked into Tara's dorm.

When they got to the room, both girls changed into pajamas and got ready for bed. Willow finished brushing her teeth and walked over to where Tara was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Let's get under the covers," she murmured, and they did so.

Willow flipped onto her side and snuggled into Tara as the blonde wrapped her arms around her. After a yawn and sigh, she whispered softly, "This is exactly where I want to be."

**THE END**

**A/N: In case anyone is curious, which I highly doubt, the spell Willow casts is not real. I wrote it in English and used the fabulous Internet to translate the parts I wanted in Latin to Latin! The English version of the opening and closing of the spells is "From blood we are born. It provides us all life. With each beat of the heart it courses through us. Let its voice be known." I guess that's pretty cool, but I thought it was cooler in Latin. **

**And with that, thanks for reading! **


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